“My thoughts are whirled like a potter’s wheel; I know not where I am nor what I do.”
—William Shakespeare
When he pushes his thumb against the disc of clay spinning in front of him, something like a daisy appears. Each indentation is a petal, round at the perimeter, tapering into the center. He works with a knowing strength, and yet at the same time seems conscious of his creation’s fragility.
His name is Predrag Petrović—Pepi for short, he tells me. A potter from the island of Iz, just off the Dalmatian coast, and I’ve traveled nearly a thousand miles to meet him.
At least that’s what I tell myself.
To be honest, I don’t have any huge reason to be in Zadar, a small city in central Croatia. Besides sample the many pizza shops and gelaterias that are a product of the city’s Italian influence, my only other plan for the week is to island-hop.
To the rugged Dugi Otok.
To the lunar hills of Pag.
And to Iz, where I’d heard a traditional potter lived and worked.
But now it seems I won’t have to go to Iz to meet Pepi. A woman in the tourism office informed me my first day in Zadar that he’d be giving a demonstration in the town’s main square—Nardoni Trg—on Wednesday morning.
At first, groups of schoolchildren in their Betty Boop and Superman t-shirts had gathered around Pepi as though he were a magician. They’ve since gone, rushing off down Široka Ulica toward the gelato stands, leaving me alone with Pepi.
I sit cross-legged on the smooth blocks of stone that form the ground, while Pepi perches on a low three-legged stool, the wooden wheel and its base set before him. For two hours, I watch him mold hunks of burnt sienna clay together like a baker, or a mother playing pat-a-cake.
I am mesmerized–by the simple tools he uses, by the quiet way he works, and by the way that a single encounter with a local can give unexpected shape to your journey.
“I am an ordinary teacher in Zagreb, at a state school. During the summer, we live on Iz, but only in July and August. We are normally not in Zadar at this time. We leave this afternoon. You are lucky to be here this week.
“Iz is the only pottery center in all of Dalmatia,” he tells me as he signs his name on the bottom of his final pot. “There is clay on much bigger islands, but very probably someone learned it like I did, came back to Iz, found clay, and said, ‘I could make something from this.’ There is a special energy in this.
“After so many years, I am happy to see this shape.”
What a great story about a craftsman at work! I love the kids watching him – they are so absorbed in what he’s doing in that moment even if they did lose interest and run off for gelato later. We were able to watch a potter at work in a shop in Istanbul last summer and it was fascinating. He let my younger daughter try her hand at the wheel and she had so much fun!
Thanks, Lisa! I’m really glad you enjoyed the story, and it’s very cool to hear about your Turkish potter–I’m sure your daughter must’ve loved having a go at the wheel. Istanbul has been on my list for a while now, so it sounds like I have yet another reason to visit now 🙂
Great story and photos. I would have loved to sit and watch him at work. We love meeting people while we travel and talking to them – it really does completely change the way you see a city.
Thank you, Tracy! It was definitely mesmerizing to see him at work–I was quite happy just to sit there and watch that wheel spin for a couple of hours 🙂 And yes, I really do believe a single conversation can turn around our perception of a place. Thanks for saying hello!
This is a beautiful post. I love how you’ve captured a moment in time and your photos are lovely. Pepi really is talented!
I really want to visit Zadar (as well as Zagreb and Vukovar). There are other places in Croatia that I want to visit too – Plitvice, Split and Dubrovik, but the others come first. Part of my desire to explore Croatia and the rest of the Balkans comes from meeting people in Serbia in 2010.
I met a Croatian from Slavonski Brod who spent hours telling me about his country until I was absolutely spellbound. I had him type all of the place names in my iPhone so I wouldn’t forget them and I still have that note on my iPhone! Of course, I never forgot any of the places he told me about.
I also spent one afternoon at a home in the Fruska Gora mountains in Novi Sad where I was the only English speaker. That long, beautiful afternoon will always be imprinted in my mind and marked the precise moment when I fell in love with Serbia.
Emm, it’s so cool hearing you talk about Serbia–your love for the country is so evident and one of my favorite things about travel is forming that kind of bond with a place. I just had dinner with a friend last night who is planning a sailing trip from Dubrovnik to Split–and is going to stop by Zadar to see the Plivice Lakes. Needless to say, I got a bit jealous hearing her ideas 🙂 Here’s to more Croatian travels!